Chapter 1051: The Alliance of Chanyuan 4
This is a passage written in reverse. It says that before this, Cao Liyong was "detained" by our side in Tianxiong Army, in order to put pressure on Liao side. When Zhenzong decided to go to Chanzhou, he finally agreed to let Cao Liyong visit Liao camp, so that he could occupy a dominant position in the subsequent negotiations and the Song Dynasty could control the situation freely.
After receiving the imperial edict from Emperor Zhenzong, Wang Jizhong happily submitted it to Song general Shi Pu, requesting to "release" Cao Liyong. Shi Pu knew the power of Emperor Zhenzong's Tai Chi, and even though he saw the red-headed document, he insisted on sending General Zhang Hao to the temporary palace to verify it with Emperor Zhenzong in person. Coincidentally, Zhang Hao was captured by Liao patrol soldiers on the way and then brought to Empress Dowager Xiao.
Empress Dowager Xiao led the young emperor to comfort Zhang Hao for a long time, and then escorted him all the way to Tianxiong Army, asking him to show Comrade Cao Liyong the imperial edict of Emperor Zhenzong, and urging him to come as soon as possible to negotiate peace and not to delay the important affairs of the two countries.
Tianxiong Army Commander-in-Chief Wang Qinruo discussed with Sun Quanzhao and said that the current situation is in our favor, so that old woman from Liao Kingdom can't sit still, so... in one word, keep dragging it out!
Wang Qinruo refused to "release" Cao Liyong on the grounds that he could not confirm the authenticity of the imperial edict.
Empress Dowager Xiao was so angry that her nose was almost crooked. Are you so unreasonable? She swallowed her anger and treated Zhang Hao well. Then she asked Wang Jizhong to send a private message to Zhenzong: Can you send someone else from Chanzhou? For the sake of peace between the two countries, let's show some sincerity.
After listening to Zhang Hao's reply, Zhenzong showed a gratified smile, "It's time to close the net." He gave another imperial edict to Wang Qinruo, and asked the Vice-Minister Wang Dan to write a letter to Wang Qinruo, saying that it was almost enough and Cao Liyong should be allowed to go to the Liao camp.
Cao Liyong then arrived at the Liao camp. Although Empress Xiao had been active and sincere before, she was a little cold and arrogant when she received Cao Liyong. The reception was ordinary and the etiquette was very simple. According to Cao Liyong's later report, Empress Xiao and her rumored boyfriend Han Derang were in the same car and had no reservations.
There were many factors that contributed to the contrast in Empress Dowager Xiao's attitude, such as pretending to be reserved to show that she was not in a hurry to negotiate in order to gain the upper hand; another example was that the Liao army had just achieved certain results and had surrounded the northern city of Chanzhou.
When it came to the specific terms of peace talks, the two sides reached almost no consensus. After a full exchange of attitudes, Empress Dowager Xiao sent special envoy Han Qi to accompany Cao Liyong back to the court to report.
On December 12, Han Qi knelt in the front hall of the temporary palace and presented Empress Dowager Xiao's letter. As expected, Empress Dowager Xiao's condition for the truce was that the Song Dynasty ceded land and "the old land south of the Guan River".
Zhenzong convened a meeting in front of the emperor and said, "I had long expected that they would make this request. Now their true intentions have been revealed. What do you think, gentlemen?"
The ministers said that ceding territory was absolutely unacceptable, but compensation was acceptable. Zhenzong also expressed his opinion and also approved the proposal of losing money to avoid disaster.
Afterwards, Zhenzong summoned Cao Liyong and told him our bottom line: ceding land is absolutely not allowed, and if the Liao Kingdom does not agree, then continue to fight; as for compensation, it can be paid as long as it does not exceed 100 million per year.
As soon as Cao Liyong left, he saw Kou Jun who had been quietly waiting outside the door. Kou Jun called Cao Liyong aside and asked, "What did the emperor tell you?"
Cao Liyong told the truth.
"The Emperor has approved a limit of 100 million for you, but remember, if you dare to exceed 30, I will kill you when you come back!"
Afterwards, Cao Liyong and Liao's special envoy Han Qi went to the Liao camp again for negotiations.
Just as Cao Liyong left, a strange phenomenon occurred in the sky: a solar eclipse suddenly occurred.
Zhenzong was horrified (the emperor was very afraid), and hurriedly asked the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to predict what this sign was. The Imperial Astronomical Bureau replied that this was a sign that the two countries would soon reach a reconciliation, which was a good omen. Zhenzong was relieved.
At first, Empress Dowager Xiao had a very tough attitude. It was estimated that her original idea was to divide the river with the Song Dynasty and cede all the land in Hebei. As the war progressed, she decided to compromise and only cede the Guannan area. The death of Xiao Talina greatly stimulated Empress Dowager Xiao and further shook her will.
When receiving Cao Liyong, Empress Dowager Xiao went straight to the point and started with the issue of ceding the land south of the Guan Pass.
Cao Liyong immediately interrupted Empress Dowager Xiao and said firmly, "Forget about the idea of ceding land! If you just want to ask for some money from the Song Dynasty every year, then we can talk about it slowly."
Gao Zheng, a Liao government official, jumped out and said angrily, "We came here for the Guannan area. If we don't talk about this, how can we explain to our countrymen?"
Cao Liyong laughed. With these two skills, he was still a political official. In our country, he was not even as good as a seventh-rank county magistrate. "Our attitude is very clear. We must cede land. If that doesn't work, we will continue to fight. But by then, if you want to negotiate again, I'm afraid you won't even get the money."
After a heated exchange of words, Cao Liyong issued an ultimatum: Song had to pay Liao an annual tribute of 100,000 taels of silver and 200,000 pieces of silk. It was up to the Song Dynasty to take it or not. If not, the Liao would have to continue fighting.
Empress Dowager Xiao agreed and sent Yao Jian to accompany Cao Liyong back to Chanzhou.
When Cao Liyong came back, Emperor Zhenzong was having a meal and could not receive foreign ministers, so he sent a young eunuch out to ask about the results of the negotiations.
"How much annual tribute did you promise?" asked the young eunuch.
Cao Li rolled his eyes and said, "This is a state secret. You are so... reckless. I must report this to the emperor in person."
The young eunuch went in and came out again after a while, "The emperor said, just give a general idea."
Cao Liyong kept his mouth shut, but could not stand the eunuch's constant nagging and finally held out three fingers.
The young eunuch looked at the three fingers in confusion, wondering what this meant. Could it be experience plus three? Oh... three million! He hurried to Zhenzong's side.
Zhenzong held the soup spoon, pointed his lips, and sipped carefully, "How much?"
"three million!"
"Snap..." The spoon fell from his hand and fell into the bowl. Zhenzong exclaimed in surprise: "Fuck, so many!" After realizing his loss of composure, Zhenzong quickly adjusted his mood, bit his back teeth, sighed, and said to himself: "Well, three million in exchange for a peaceful world, it's worth it!" The Chanzhou Palace is not like the imperial palace. In fact, there is only a curtain between Cao Liyong and Zhenzong, so they can communicate normally. However, feudal emperors pay attention to the patriarchal etiquette. Even if they are close to each other and can hear each other's voice, they have to let the eunuchs pass on the message.
In fact, Cao Liyong heard every word Zhenzong said.
After washing up, Zhenzong formally met with Cao Liyong.
Cao Liyong deliberately provoked Zhenzong. As soon as he entered the room, he knelt down and kowtowed, saying that he was incompetent and that he had promised too much, which had cost the country a lot of money and was really a capital crime.
Zhenzong wanted to show tolerance, "Thank you for your hard work, my dear minister. Three million can buy peace for the world..."
"Three hundred thousand."
"What?"
So the emperor was very happy. My dear, are you deliberately playing ice and fire with me? How cute.
There was another small episode during the peace talks, and again, the records of the Song and Liao sides were slightly different. According to the Liao people, Emperor Zhenzong of Song requested to recognize Empress Dowager Xiao as his aunt (the Empress Dowager was his aunt).
The people of the Song Dynasty recorded that when Empress Xiao ordered Wang Jizhong to serve Cao Liyong, Wang Jizhong proposed that the restoration of peace between the two countries was a great joy, and the Liao emperor was willing to serve the Southern Dynasty as a brother. Cao Liyong told Zhenzong, who readily agreed to this request and swore brotherhood with the young Liao Shengzong. From then on, Song and Liao became brother countries. So in his reply to the Liao, Zhenzong called Empress Xiao his aunt.
Just as the "Chanyuan Alliance" was reached, someone wanted to unilaterally break the agreement. This person was Kou Jun.
Kou Jun petitioned Emperor Zhenzong to send troops to intercept and kill the Liao army, taking advantage of the Liao army's unpreparedness to strike a devastating blow and put an end to the trouble forever. Emperor Zhenzong did not accept his proposal. Kou Jun insisted that only in this way could the Song Dynasty be guaranteed to be safe for a hundred years. Otherwise, what if the Khitans came back decades later?
Zhenzong said that in a few decades, we will definitely have capable people who can resist the Liao army. We have finally ushered in peace, and I don’t want the people of the world to suffer from war again.
Kou Jun still insisted on his own opinion and urged Zhenzong to send troops to pursue and kill him.
At this time, someone impeached Kou Zhen for having ulterior motives and accused him of "taking advantage of the situation to gain important positions". Only then did Kou Zhen stop insisting, and the "Chanyuan Alliance" was successfully implemented without any danger.
There are also two completely different opinions on the evaluation of the "Chanyuan Alliance". Some people accuse Zhenzong of being too cowardly, because the Song army had an absolute advantage on the battlefield, and if he refused to negotiate, it would be possible for Empress Xiao's entire army to be annihilated; some people say that the "annual tribute" was a loss of sovereignty and humiliation to the country, and even compared it with a series of unequal treaties in the late Qing Dynasty...
The above are all empty talk from keyboard warriors.
They may not know about the civil unrest in Sichuan and the rise of Western Xia. The Song Dynasty may not have been in tatters, but the successive wars have greatly consumed the national strength of the Song Dynasty. As mentioned above, in order to resist the southern invasion of the Liao Kingdom, Zhenzong had to mobilize the people of Henan and Hebei on a large scale, and the number of soldiers available in Hebei was less than 10,000. Friends who know a little about the history of Western Xia should also know that the Xiazhou Dangxiang people had been reborn since Li Jiqian and began to threaten the northwest of the empire. As for the Western Xia regime established shortly afterwards, it made the Song Dynasty suffer a lot, and had to admit the objective fact that the Song, Liao, and Xia divided the world into three parts.
Furthermore, did all the civil and military officials in the court and the local vassal states unanimously support Zhenzong? As mentioned in the previous article, the process of Zhenzong's accession to the throne cannot be ignored. Some people have long been thinking about deposing and enthroning, either supporting Taizu's grandson or supporting the mentally ill Zhao Yuanzu. If the war is not favorable to the Song Dynasty, will someone in the rear make small moves? Is Zhenzong's prestige enough to deter them? Obviously not, the civil one looks to Kou Jun, and the military one looks to Gao Qiong.
Let's take a step back and say that if Zhenzong refused to negotiate with Liao and continued to fight, what would be the strategic goal of the Song Dynasty? To recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun or to annex Liao? Obviously, after fighting for a long time, peace talks would have to be negotiated in the end. Since negotiations would have to be held sooner or later, why did they have to lose all their wealth instead of stopping while they were ahead?
So, on the whole, Zhenzong was eager to reconcile with Liao. It was worth it to buy a world of peace with 300,000. Historians also tell us that after the reconciliation between the two countries, the Song Dynasty always had a trade surplus in international trade. Relying on strong handicrafts and agriculture, the "annual tribute" flowed back to the Song Dynasty with interest.
No matter what standpoint future generations take or from what angle they evaluate, it is undeniable that the Song and Liao dynasties maintained peace for a hundred years until the rise of the Jin Dynasty of the Jurchens.
What does a hundred years of peace mean? It can be said to be unprecedented. Not to mention a hundred years, it is rare in history that the nomadic peoples and the Central Plains dynasties could maintain peace for ten years without fighting. It is a miracle that a treaty can create a hundred years of peace.
Four years after the contract was signed, Empress Dowager Xiao held a "Chai Ceremony" for Emperor Shengzong of Liao, Yelü Longxu, and officially returned power to Shengzong, ending her 57-year regency career. She died of illness the following month at the age of 71, leaving us prematurely. The following year, her confidant and rumored boyfriend Han Derang also died of illness at the age of , leaving us prematurely.
For the Liao Dynasty, the "Chanyuan Alliance" also holds a pivotal position and is the greatest political legacy left by Empress Xiao to Emperor Shengzong. After Emperor Shengzong took power, he was able to govern the country with peace of mind and develop rapidly in this peaceful atmosphere, which made the Liao Dynasty flourish during Emperor Shengzong's reign. Later generations called this period the "Peaceful Reign", and Yelu Longxu's temple name "Emperor Shengzong" was enough to show the Liao people's recognition of him. Historical records praised him as the "Prosperous Lord of the Liao Dynasty".
The "Chanyuan Alliance" was undoubtedly a win-win result, which was the political wisdom of the Chinese people. The world is big enough to accommodate two great empires; the Pacific Ocean is big enough to accommodate two powerful countries.
In 1022, when Emperor Zhenzong of Song, Zhao Heng, passed away, the saddest person in the world was Emperor Shengzong of Liao. Emperor Shengzong of Liao summoned all the civil and military officials to hold a memorial service for Emperor Zhenzong of Song. At the memorial service, Emperor Shengzong of Liao burst into tears, as if he had lost his parents.
He was not acting, but was sad from the bottom of his heart. He was crying for the hard-won friendship between the two countries and the uncertain future of the relationship between the two countries. Emperor Shengzong of Liao spoke his mind to his close ministers, "I heard that the ruler of Song is young (Zhao Zhen, the sixth son of Emperor Zhenzong, succeeded him at the age of 12). He would not know the significance of the 'Chanyuan Alliance' to the two countries. If he is bewitched and instigated by treacherous ministers and raises the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun to start a war, what should we do?"
Great minds think alike. Before his death, Emperor Zhenzong demoted and exiled hawkish officials such as Kou Jun.
Zhao Zhen was posthumously named "Renzong". During his reign, he worked hard to govern the country, appointed a large number of talents such as Fan Zhongyan, implemented the "Qingli New Deal" reform, and created the "Renzong's prosperous rule". This was also inseparable from the firm maintenance of the "Chanyuan Alliance".
In 1031, Emperor Shengzong of Liao, Yelü Longxu, died at the age of 69, after reigning for 41 years.
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(End of this chapter)
This is a passage written in reverse. It says that before this, Cao Liyong was "detained" by our side in Tianxiong Army, in order to put pressure on Liao side. When Zhenzong decided to go to Chanzhou, he finally agreed to let Cao Liyong visit Liao camp, so that he could occupy a dominant position in the subsequent negotiations and the Song Dynasty could control the situation freely.
After receiving the imperial edict from Emperor Zhenzong, Wang Jizhong happily submitted it to Song general Shi Pu, requesting to "release" Cao Liyong. Shi Pu knew the power of Emperor Zhenzong's Tai Chi, and even though he saw the red-headed document, he insisted on sending General Zhang Hao to the temporary palace to verify it with Emperor Zhenzong in person. Coincidentally, Zhang Hao was captured by Liao patrol soldiers on the way and then brought to Empress Dowager Xiao.
Empress Dowager Xiao led the young emperor to comfort Zhang Hao for a long time, and then escorted him all the way to Tianxiong Army, asking him to show Comrade Cao Liyong the imperial edict of Emperor Zhenzong, and urging him to come as soon as possible to negotiate peace and not to delay the important affairs of the two countries.
Tianxiong Army Commander-in-Chief Wang Qinruo discussed with Sun Quanzhao and said that the current situation is in our favor, so that old woman from Liao Kingdom can't sit still, so... in one word, keep dragging it out!
Wang Qinruo refused to "release" Cao Liyong on the grounds that he could not confirm the authenticity of the imperial edict.
Empress Dowager Xiao was so angry that her nose was almost crooked. Are you so unreasonable? She swallowed her anger and treated Zhang Hao well. Then she asked Wang Jizhong to send a private message to Zhenzong: Can you send someone else from Chanzhou? For the sake of peace between the two countries, let's show some sincerity.
After listening to Zhang Hao's reply, Zhenzong showed a gratified smile, "It's time to close the net." He gave another imperial edict to Wang Qinruo, and asked the Vice-Minister Wang Dan to write a letter to Wang Qinruo, saying that it was almost enough and Cao Liyong should be allowed to go to the Liao camp.
Cao Liyong then arrived at the Liao camp. Although Empress Xiao had been active and sincere before, she was a little cold and arrogant when she received Cao Liyong. The reception was ordinary and the etiquette was very simple. According to Cao Liyong's later report, Empress Xiao and her rumored boyfriend Han Derang were in the same car and had no reservations.
There were many factors that contributed to the contrast in Empress Dowager Xiao's attitude, such as pretending to be reserved to show that she was not in a hurry to negotiate in order to gain the upper hand; another example was that the Liao army had just achieved certain results and had surrounded the northern city of Chanzhou.
When it came to the specific terms of peace talks, the two sides reached almost no consensus. After a full exchange of attitudes, Empress Dowager Xiao sent special envoy Han Qi to accompany Cao Liyong back to the court to report.
On December 12, Han Qi knelt in the front hall of the temporary palace and presented Empress Dowager Xiao's letter. As expected, Empress Dowager Xiao's condition for the truce was that the Song Dynasty ceded land and "the old land south of the Guan River".
Zhenzong convened a meeting in front of the emperor and said, "I had long expected that they would make this request. Now their true intentions have been revealed. What do you think, gentlemen?"
The ministers said that ceding territory was absolutely unacceptable, but compensation was acceptable. Zhenzong also expressed his opinion and also approved the proposal of losing money to avoid disaster.
Afterwards, Zhenzong summoned Cao Liyong and told him our bottom line: ceding land is absolutely not allowed, and if the Liao Kingdom does not agree, then continue to fight; as for compensation, it can be paid as long as it does not exceed 100 million per year.
As soon as Cao Liyong left, he saw Kou Jun who had been quietly waiting outside the door. Kou Jun called Cao Liyong aside and asked, "What did the emperor tell you?"
Cao Liyong told the truth.
"The Emperor has approved a limit of 100 million for you, but remember, if you dare to exceed 30, I will kill you when you come back!"
Afterwards, Cao Liyong and Liao's special envoy Han Qi went to the Liao camp again for negotiations.
Just as Cao Liyong left, a strange phenomenon occurred in the sky: a solar eclipse suddenly occurred.
Zhenzong was horrified (the emperor was very afraid), and hurriedly asked the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to predict what this sign was. The Imperial Astronomical Bureau replied that this was a sign that the two countries would soon reach a reconciliation, which was a good omen. Zhenzong was relieved.
At first, Empress Dowager Xiao had a very tough attitude. It was estimated that her original idea was to divide the river with the Song Dynasty and cede all the land in Hebei. As the war progressed, she decided to compromise and only cede the Guannan area. The death of Xiao Talina greatly stimulated Empress Dowager Xiao and further shook her will.
When receiving Cao Liyong, Empress Dowager Xiao went straight to the point and started with the issue of ceding the land south of the Guan Pass.
Cao Liyong immediately interrupted Empress Dowager Xiao and said firmly, "Forget about the idea of ceding land! If you just want to ask for some money from the Song Dynasty every year, then we can talk about it slowly."
Gao Zheng, a Liao government official, jumped out and said angrily, "We came here for the Guannan area. If we don't talk about this, how can we explain to our countrymen?"
Cao Liyong laughed. With these two skills, he was still a political official. In our country, he was not even as good as a seventh-rank county magistrate. "Our attitude is very clear. We must cede land. If that doesn't work, we will continue to fight. But by then, if you want to negotiate again, I'm afraid you won't even get the money."
After a heated exchange of words, Cao Liyong issued an ultimatum: Song had to pay Liao an annual tribute of 100,000 taels of silver and 200,000 pieces of silk. It was up to the Song Dynasty to take it or not. If not, the Liao would have to continue fighting.
Empress Dowager Xiao agreed and sent Yao Jian to accompany Cao Liyong back to Chanzhou.
When Cao Liyong came back, Emperor Zhenzong was having a meal and could not receive foreign ministers, so he sent a young eunuch out to ask about the results of the negotiations.
"How much annual tribute did you promise?" asked the young eunuch.
Cao Li rolled his eyes and said, "This is a state secret. You are so... reckless. I must report this to the emperor in person."
The young eunuch went in and came out again after a while, "The emperor said, just give a general idea."
Cao Liyong kept his mouth shut, but could not stand the eunuch's constant nagging and finally held out three fingers.
The young eunuch looked at the three fingers in confusion, wondering what this meant. Could it be experience plus three? Oh... three million! He hurried to Zhenzong's side.
Zhenzong held the soup spoon, pointed his lips, and sipped carefully, "How much?"
"three million!"
"Snap..." The spoon fell from his hand and fell into the bowl. Zhenzong exclaimed in surprise: "Fuck, so many!" After realizing his loss of composure, Zhenzong quickly adjusted his mood, bit his back teeth, sighed, and said to himself: "Well, three million in exchange for a peaceful world, it's worth it!" The Chanzhou Palace is not like the imperial palace. In fact, there is only a curtain between Cao Liyong and Zhenzong, so they can communicate normally. However, feudal emperors pay attention to the patriarchal etiquette. Even if they are close to each other and can hear each other's voice, they have to let the eunuchs pass on the message.
In fact, Cao Liyong heard every word Zhenzong said.
After washing up, Zhenzong formally met with Cao Liyong.
Cao Liyong deliberately provoked Zhenzong. As soon as he entered the room, he knelt down and kowtowed, saying that he was incompetent and that he had promised too much, which had cost the country a lot of money and was really a capital crime.
Zhenzong wanted to show tolerance, "Thank you for your hard work, my dear minister. Three million can buy peace for the world..."
"Three hundred thousand."
"What?"
So the emperor was very happy. My dear, are you deliberately playing ice and fire with me? How cute.
There was another small episode during the peace talks, and again, the records of the Song and Liao sides were slightly different. According to the Liao people, Emperor Zhenzong of Song requested to recognize Empress Dowager Xiao as his aunt (the Empress Dowager was his aunt).
The people of the Song Dynasty recorded that when Empress Xiao ordered Wang Jizhong to serve Cao Liyong, Wang Jizhong proposed that the restoration of peace between the two countries was a great joy, and the Liao emperor was willing to serve the Southern Dynasty as a brother. Cao Liyong told Zhenzong, who readily agreed to this request and swore brotherhood with the young Liao Shengzong. From then on, Song and Liao became brother countries. So in his reply to the Liao, Zhenzong called Empress Xiao his aunt.
Just as the "Chanyuan Alliance" was reached, someone wanted to unilaterally break the agreement. This person was Kou Jun.
Kou Jun petitioned Emperor Zhenzong to send troops to intercept and kill the Liao army, taking advantage of the Liao army's unpreparedness to strike a devastating blow and put an end to the trouble forever. Emperor Zhenzong did not accept his proposal. Kou Jun insisted that only in this way could the Song Dynasty be guaranteed to be safe for a hundred years. Otherwise, what if the Khitans came back decades later?
Zhenzong said that in a few decades, we will definitely have capable people who can resist the Liao army. We have finally ushered in peace, and I don’t want the people of the world to suffer from war again.
Kou Jun still insisted on his own opinion and urged Zhenzong to send troops to pursue and kill him.
At this time, someone impeached Kou Zhen for having ulterior motives and accused him of "taking advantage of the situation to gain important positions". Only then did Kou Zhen stop insisting, and the "Chanyuan Alliance" was successfully implemented without any danger.
There are also two completely different opinions on the evaluation of the "Chanyuan Alliance". Some people accuse Zhenzong of being too cowardly, because the Song army had an absolute advantage on the battlefield, and if he refused to negotiate, it would be possible for Empress Xiao's entire army to be annihilated; some people say that the "annual tribute" was a loss of sovereignty and humiliation to the country, and even compared it with a series of unequal treaties in the late Qing Dynasty...
The above are all empty talk from keyboard warriors.
They may not know about the civil unrest in Sichuan and the rise of Western Xia. The Song Dynasty may not have been in tatters, but the successive wars have greatly consumed the national strength of the Song Dynasty. As mentioned above, in order to resist the southern invasion of the Liao Kingdom, Zhenzong had to mobilize the people of Henan and Hebei on a large scale, and the number of soldiers available in Hebei was less than 10,000. Friends who know a little about the history of Western Xia should also know that the Xiazhou Dangxiang people had been reborn since Li Jiqian and began to threaten the northwest of the empire. As for the Western Xia regime established shortly afterwards, it made the Song Dynasty suffer a lot, and had to admit the objective fact that the Song, Liao, and Xia divided the world into three parts.
Furthermore, did all the civil and military officials in the court and the local vassal states unanimously support Zhenzong? As mentioned in the previous article, the process of Zhenzong's accession to the throne cannot be ignored. Some people have long been thinking about deposing and enthroning, either supporting Taizu's grandson or supporting the mentally ill Zhao Yuanzu. If the war is not favorable to the Song Dynasty, will someone in the rear make small moves? Is Zhenzong's prestige enough to deter them? Obviously not, the civil one looks to Kou Jun, and the military one looks to Gao Qiong.
Let's take a step back and say that if Zhenzong refused to negotiate with Liao and continued to fight, what would be the strategic goal of the Song Dynasty? To recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun or to annex Liao? Obviously, after fighting for a long time, peace talks would have to be negotiated in the end. Since negotiations would have to be held sooner or later, why did they have to lose all their wealth instead of stopping while they were ahead?
So, on the whole, Zhenzong was eager to reconcile with Liao. It was worth it to buy a world of peace with 300,000. Historians also tell us that after the reconciliation between the two countries, the Song Dynasty always had a trade surplus in international trade. Relying on strong handicrafts and agriculture, the "annual tribute" flowed back to the Song Dynasty with interest.
No matter what standpoint future generations take or from what angle they evaluate, it is undeniable that the Song and Liao dynasties maintained peace for a hundred years until the rise of the Jin Dynasty of the Jurchens.
What does a hundred years of peace mean? It can be said to be unprecedented. Not to mention a hundred years, it is rare in history that the nomadic peoples and the Central Plains dynasties could maintain peace for ten years without fighting. It is a miracle that a treaty can create a hundred years of peace.
Four years after the contract was signed, Empress Dowager Xiao held a "Chai Ceremony" for Emperor Shengzong of Liao, Yelü Longxu, and officially returned power to Shengzong, ending her 57-year regency career. She died of illness the following month at the age of 71, leaving us prematurely. The following year, her confidant and rumored boyfriend Han Derang also died of illness at the age of , leaving us prematurely.
For the Liao Dynasty, the "Chanyuan Alliance" also holds a pivotal position and is the greatest political legacy left by Empress Xiao to Emperor Shengzong. After Emperor Shengzong took power, he was able to govern the country with peace of mind and develop rapidly in this peaceful atmosphere, which made the Liao Dynasty flourish during Emperor Shengzong's reign. Later generations called this period the "Peaceful Reign", and Yelu Longxu's temple name "Emperor Shengzong" was enough to show the Liao people's recognition of him. Historical records praised him as the "Prosperous Lord of the Liao Dynasty".
The "Chanyuan Alliance" was undoubtedly a win-win result, which was the political wisdom of the Chinese people. The world is big enough to accommodate two great empires; the Pacific Ocean is big enough to accommodate two powerful countries.
In 1022, when Emperor Zhenzong of Song, Zhao Heng, passed away, the saddest person in the world was Emperor Shengzong of Liao. Emperor Shengzong of Liao summoned all the civil and military officials to hold a memorial service for Emperor Zhenzong of Song. At the memorial service, Emperor Shengzong of Liao burst into tears, as if he had lost his parents.
He was not acting, but was sad from the bottom of his heart. He was crying for the hard-won friendship between the two countries and the uncertain future of the relationship between the two countries. Emperor Shengzong of Liao spoke his mind to his close ministers, "I heard that the ruler of Song is young (Zhao Zhen, the sixth son of Emperor Zhenzong, succeeded him at the age of 12). He would not know the significance of the 'Chanyuan Alliance' to the two countries. If he is bewitched and instigated by treacherous ministers and raises the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun to start a war, what should we do?"
Great minds think alike. Before his death, Emperor Zhenzong demoted and exiled hawkish officials such as Kou Jun.
Zhao Zhen was posthumously named "Renzong". During his reign, he worked hard to govern the country, appointed a large number of talents such as Fan Zhongyan, implemented the "Qingli New Deal" reform, and created the "Renzong's prosperous rule". This was also inseparable from the firm maintenance of the "Chanyuan Alliance".
In 1031, Emperor Shengzong of Liao, Yelü Longxu, died at the age of 69, after reigning for 41 years.
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